Joanne Tiernan-Lilly

January 9, 1931 - March 18, 2022

Joanne Tiernan Lilly passed away peacefully on Friday, March 18, 2022 at the age of 91 in her Carleton, Michigan home. Joanne was a woman of sharp intelligence, high principles, kind generosity, understated elegance, boundless creativity, and loving devotion to her husband and family. She loved to paint seascapes of Bruce Beach, Ontario, the vacation spot she visited nearly every year since her teens. She was a prolific knitter, always thoughtfully gifting her works to her children and grandchildren. And she was a loving owner of countless boxer dogs, from Heidi in 1964 all the way to Brady just last year. A lifelong learner, Joanne got a degree in accounting from the College of DuPage in her late forties, helped create a chapter for her sorority, Collegiate Sorosis, at the University of Michigan in her fifties, and started a business selling air purifiers in her sixties. In the last two decades, she has been exceptionally savvy on social media for a woman of her age. She connected with the family every day on-line and would print out and proudly display any photos of her great grandchildren that were posted. She was born in Detroit, Michigan on January 9, 1931 to the late Walter and Leontine Kleinert. Walter was a prominent lawyer in Detroit, arguing often before the United States District Court, and Leontine was a Daughter of the American Revolution. Joanne graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in 1952. She raised her family in Red Oak and Shenandoah, Iowa; Huntington, West Virginia; Bay Village, Ohio; Paoli and Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania; Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Darien, Connecticut; and Wheaton, Illinois. She will be greatly missed. Loving mother of Dave (Donna) and Peter (Michelle). Devoted grandmother of John (Kirstie), Robert, Jessica (Justin), Meghan (Brian), and Sarah. Proud great-grandmother of Miles, Dylan, Norah, Ani, and Mila. Dear sister of the late Marilea, and aunt of Beth and Kathy. She is also survived by her loving husband, Gary Lilly, whose dedication to Joanne throughout their nearly 25 years of marriage has been both a blessing and a source of inspiration. Joanne’s life will be celebrated in a private family gathering. Those wishing to make an expression of sympathy are asked to consider a donation to the American Boxer Charitable Foundation, supporting the dog breed Joanne loved so much. Go to https://www.abcfoundation.org/# and click “In Memory Of” under the DONATE menu.